Electrical apparatus



Aug- 7, 1952 J. E. MIKKOLA ET AL" 3,048,669

l ELECTRICAL APPARATUS IN VEN TORS. Ja/m E. M/kko/a Stan/ey F. Newman Their Attorney Aug. 7, 1962 J. E. MIKKOLA ETAL ELECTRICAL APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 15. 1959 o N m O N O Oom OOO 0mm Omo Ohm ONO om om 0mm Omo Cmm Omo INVENTORS. Jo/m E. Mik/rola Stan/ey E Newman Their Attorney a Aug. 7, 1962 lA E. MIKKOLA ETAL 3,048,669

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed July 15, 1959 5 She-:ecs-Sheeil 3 4me BYMJM` Their Attorney United States Patent Otlice '3,048,669 Patented Aug. 7, 1962 3,048,669 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS John E. Mikkola, Ferndale, and Stanley F. Newman, Troy, Mich., assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 15, 1959, Ser. No. 827,345 Claims. (Cl. 200-11) This invention relates to electrical apparatus and more particularly .to rotary contact devices for selectively actuating electrical devices.

There are operations in which it is desired to stamp or punch numbers or letters or any other insignia by electrically operated mechanisms.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rotary contact controlling device which will prevent errors in such operations and make such operations faster.

lIt is another object of this invention to provide an electrical contact device having multiple switching stations in 360 of relative rotation to provide multiple switching -connections between several series of electrical devices. In particular, the unit described has 100 switching stations to provide switching connections between two series of vten electrical devices.

.It is another object of this invention to provide an electrical Contact device having one hundred switching station in 360 of relative rotation to provide one hundred different switching connections between two series of ten electrical devices.

These and other objects are obtained in the forms shown in the drawings in which a rotary contact device has current fed to it through .a collector ring to ten equally spaced contacts in one concentric ring as well as a second contact located a dilerent distance from the axis of rotation. A Isecond stationary contact device has an outer set of ten contacts arranged in a circle with the contacts spaced 32 24 minutes apart. `One space being 68 24 minutes thus giving ten contact positions in 360. The formula for obtaining the spacing is.

S 360 S60/N S=spacing N=num|ber of switching stations The one larger space is equal to one smaller space plus S60/N. Within this circle of contacts are ten segmental contacts having their adjacent edges spaced one degree apart. The outer set of contacts are separately connected to ten electrical operating devices representing numbers lfrom 0 to 9 while the inner set of segmental contacts are individually connected to electrically operateddevices representing units from 0 to 9 in the tens column. The rotary contacter is indexed to the desired station, and the current applied to operate the speciiied electrical devices giving the desired indication.

A second `form is based on one or two three-armed contact members likewise contacting segmental contacts and small contacts on a larger radius to provide numerous switching stations providing different switching connections throughout 360 of rotation.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent @from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention are clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation of a rotary contact device embodying one form of our invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2 2 of FIGURE 1 showing the stationary Contact portion;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken in the opposite direction along the line 3-3 showing the rotary contact number;

FIGURE 4 is a wiring diagram illustrati-ng two sets of ten solenoids connected with the contact mechanism so as to produce significant numbers `from 00 to 99 inelusive;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a modified form of rotary contact mechanism; Iand FIGURE l6 is a plan view of a third form of contact mechanism.

Referring nw to the drawings and more particularly to FIGURE l, there is shown a rotary shaft 110 which may be rotatably mounted in a bearing 112. This bearing 112 is supported by a vertical support 114 to which is bolted an insulating member 116. This insulating member 116 is provided with a series of ten contacts arranged on the circumference of the outer circle Iwith the contacts spaced 32 24, apart, substantially one-eleventh of the circumference apart. These contacts are designated C0, C1, C2, C3, C4 beginning from the top and proceeding counterclockwise as shown in FIGURE 2. Following contact C4 in the counterclockwise direction, there is .a space of 68 24. The remaining contacts C6, C7, C8 and lC9 are spaced at intervals of 32 24', substantially one-eleventh circumference in counterclockwise direction. The space of 68 24 may be any position on the circumference, not necessarily between C4 and C5.

As shown in 4FIGURE 4, these contacts C0 through C9 are connected individually to the solenoids S0 to S9, inclusive. These solenoids actuate individual punches capable of punching out numbers from 0 to 9 representing units in a numbered card or sheet.

Within the circle of these contacts is a series of ten segmental contacts spaced one degree apart at their adjacent edges and spanning about 35 each. These contacts are designated in order proceeding clockwise C00, C10, C20, C30, C40, C50, C60, C70, C and C90. These contacts are individually connected to separate solenoids in the tens series designated as S00, S10, S20, S30, S40, S50, S60, S70, S86, and S90. In this, the contacts are connected to vthe solenoids of the corresponding number and are differentiated by their prefixes C and S. The solenoids are arranged to punch numbers in a card or sheet representing numbers in the tens column of Arabic numerals. Lf desired, a stamp or any desired printing or indicating arrangement could Ibe substituted for a punching device.

The vertical support 114 is provided with a bracket 118 supporting an insulating member 12.0 carrying a contact 121 which is continuously in engagement with a collector ring M4 provided upon a disk 126 of insulating material fastened by a coupling 128 to the shaft 110. The collector ring 124 is electrically connected through the screw 130 and a conductor 132 to a single contact A00 adapted to make contact with the segmental contacts upon the insulating member 116 as shown in FlG- URE l. A conductor 134 connects to a contact A0. This contact All as well as nine other similar contacts are arranged eveniy spaced in a circle concentric with the axis of the shaft having the same diameter as the contacts C0 to C9 upon the insulating member 116. These contacts are designated, proceeding clockwise, as A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8 and A9. These contacts are all connected by jumpers 136. Additional electrical connections 138 and 140 may be made between the contacts and the collector ring 124.

The contact 121 is connected by a conductor 142 to the negative terminal 144 of a full-wave bridge rectifier circuit 146. This rectiiier circuit 146 has its positive terminal 148 connected by conductors 150 and 152 to the second terminals of both series of solenoids designated assenso S to S9 and S00 to S90. The bridge rectiiier circuit has one input terminal 154 connected by a control switch 156 to one terminal ot" a step-down transformer 150. The second input terminal 160 of the bridge rectifier circuit is connected by the conductor 162 through a fuse 164 to the second output terminal of the step-down transformer 158. The input side of the transformer 150 is connected by a double pole switch 166 to suitable alternating current supply conductors L1 and L2. A printing motor 16S may also be connected to this circuit.

With this arrangement, a dilterent switching connection is provided for each 36 of rotation of the shaft 110 providing one hundred switching stations which may be designated 00 to 99. The disk 126 may be provided with an indicating arrow 170 for cooperating with numbers 00 to 99 extending around its circumference in the counterclockwise direction.

The connections are made as follows. In the zero position, the contact A0 contacts with the C0. ln consecutive positions one to four spaced 3.6 apart, contact A1 lirst contacts contact C1, then A2 contacts C2, A3 contacts C3 and A4 contacts C4. In the next 3.6" position, the contacting jumps so that contact A6 contacts C5, and continuing consecutively, A7 contacts C6, A8 contacts C7 and A9 contacts C8 and then A0 contacts C9. In all these positions, the contact A00 is in contact with various portions of the segmental contact C00.

When the disk 126 is moved to the number ten position which is 36 from the 0 position counterclockwise, the contact A00 will contact the segmental contact C10. Contact A1 will contact C0 in the number ten position. In the number eleven position, contact A2 will contact contact C1. In position twelve, contact A3 will contact contact C2. In position thirteen, contact A4 will contact contact C3, and contact A5 will contact contact C4 in position fourteen. In position fifteen, contact A7 will contact contact C5. In position sixteen, contact A3 will contact contact C6. In position seventeen, contact A9 will contact contact C7. In position eighteen, contact A0 will contact contact C0. In position nineteen, contact A1 will contact contact C9. Throughout these positions ten to nineteen, the contact A00 will be in contact with the contact C10.

This pattern of contact engagements will continue up to position ninety-nine; thus, this contact arrangement provides one hundred switching stations within 360 of rotation in a simple manner for operating any desired devices. ln each of these switching stations, the closing of the switches 166 and 156 will energize the solenoids having the S number corresponding to the C number of the contacts to which they are electrically connected.

In FIGURE 5, there is provided a modified form of rotary contact device in which there is provided a threearmed rotary contact member 220 having arms 222, 224 and 226 spaced 120 apart. All parts of the three-armed member 220 are conducting. Each of the arms is provided with a Contact portion at its tip adapted to make contact with the stationary contacts 201, 202, 203 arranged upon a circle concentric with the center of the three-arm member 220 within the segmental contacts 301, 302, 303.

The stationary contacts 201, 202 and 203 are positioned one-ninth of a circumference apart and are symmetrically located relative to the segmental contact 301. The segmental contacts 301, 302 and 303 span an arc of about 100 with spacing of about 20 in between uniformly distributed. rIhe arm 222 has an additional contact 22S adapted to engage the segmental contacts 301, 302 and 303 in succession. In the preferred form, the arms 224 and 226 do not engage the segmental contacts but only engage the contacts 201, 202 and 203.

The contacts 201, 202 and 203 respectively connect with the outgoing conductors a, b and c while the segmental contacts 301, 302 and 303 connect to the supply conductors A, B and C. As the rotary contact member 220 is rotated, the following connections will be made in order.

Switch position: Switch connections in FIG. 5

l A-a In FIGURE 6, the disclosure of FIGURE 5 is repeated'. However, in addition to the subject matter of FIGURE 5, a second rotary member 420 has been added which is concentric with and normally rotatable with the rotary member 220. However, it may rotate independently if desired. It is electrically connected to the contact member 220.

The rotary contact member 420 has three arms 422, 424 and 426 positioned apart. These arms 422, 4214 and 426 are adapted to pass over the segmental contacts 301, B02 and l303 and the group of three contacts 201, 202 and 203 without making contact therewith. They are, however, conductive throughout and are adapted to make contact at their outer tips with the contacts `401, 402 and 403. The contacts 401, 402 and 403 are positioned on a concentric circle one-ninth of a circumference apart. With this arrangement, the rotary contact member 420 will make contact with the contacts 401, 402 and 403 in that order once during each 120 of rotation clockwise. The contacts 401, 402 and 403 are individually connected electrically by conductors A, B and C to separate electrical devices. With members 220 and 420 electrically connected but capable of being rotated independently, it becomes possible to make any combination of connections between A, B, C and a, b, c. This provides essentially the same combinations as in FIGURE 5. Again, if the connections as shown in FIG- URE 6 are used, it becomes possible to make connections such as A to contact 2011 and contact 401 or to contact 201 and 402, etc. Thus, by this simple system of rotary contact arrangements provided in the different modifications, a wide variety of contacting arrangements can be made in a simple compact rotary contact arrangement.

While the embodiments of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A rotary contact device including a first means having an axis and having ten small contacts located equally spaced in a circle concentric about said axis, a second means having a first series of ten small contacts arranged in a circle concentric about said axis, said ten contacts being arranged in a continuous series substantially oneeleventh of the circumference apart, said irst and second means being mounted for relative rotation about said axis, said ten contacts of said iirst and second means being located so as to contact each other individually upon relative rotation about said axis, said second means having a second series of ten contacts uniformly arranged as segments of a circle concentric about said axis with narrow non-contact gaps between them, said rst means having an eleventh contact located to engage said second series of ten contacts upon said second means.

2. A rotary contact device including a iirst means having an axis and having ten small contacts located equally lspaced in a circle concentric about said axis, a second means having a first series of ten small contacts arranged in a circle concentric about said axis, said ten contacts being arranged in a continuous series substantially oneeleventh of the circumference apart, said rst and second means being mounted for relative rotation about said axis, said ten contacts of said first and second means amasar;

being located so as to contact each other individually upon relative rotation about said axis, said second means having a second series of ten contacts uniformly arranged as segments of a circle concentric about said axis with narrow non-contact gaps between them, said tirst means having an eleventh contact located to engage lsaid second series of ten contacts upon said second means, and means for supplying electrical energy in parallel circuit arrangement to said ten small contacts and said eleventh contact of said rst means.

3. A rotary contact device including a lrst means having an axis and having a selected number greater than two of small contacts in a series located equally spaced and symmetrically located in a circle concentric about said axis, a second means having a first series of uniformly spaced small contacts equal in fnumber to said selected number arranged in a continuous series in a circle concentric about said axis spaced slightly closer together than the contacts of said Ifirst means by a difference greater than the Width of one contact, said -iirst and second means being mounted for relative rotation about said axis, said contacts of said first and second means being located so as to contact each other individually upon relative rotation about said axis.

4. A rotary contact device including a iirst unitary means having an axis and having at least three small contacts located equally spaced symmetrically in a circle concentric about said axis, a second unitary means having a rst series of an equal number of small contacts equally spaced in a continuous series in a circle concentric about said axis, the contacts in said continuous series being spaced according to the formula 360 number of contacts in the series number of contacts in the series said first and second means being mounted for relative rotation about said axis, said contacts of said irst and second means being located substantially the same distance from said axis so as to contact each other individually upon relative rotation about said axis.

5. A rotary contact device including a rlirst means having a selected number greater than two of small contacts in a series located symmetrically and equally spaced in a circle concentric about said axis, a second means having a rst series of uniformly spaced small contacts equal in number to said selected number arranged in a continuous series in a circle concentric about said axis and of substantially the same diameter as said series upon said rst means spaced slightly closer together than said series of contacts of said lfirst means excepting for a wider space between the last contact of the series and the rst contact thereof, said second means also having a second series of more than two segmental contacts as integral parts arranged as separated segments of a circle symmetrical and concentric about said axis, said rst and second means being mounted for relative rotation about said axis, said irst means being provided with a contact means for consecutively contacting said segmental contacts upon said second means concurrently with the engagement of the contacts between said first series, said contacts of said irst series being located so as to contact each other individually upon the relative rotation of said first and second means.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,051,542 Bissell Ian. 28, 19513 2,258,072 Stansbury Oct. 7, 1941 2,755,020 Belcher July 17, 1956 2,792,174 Ruder May 14, 1957 

